All Shoes to be X-Rayed
 

I am flying out of Midland Texas where I have just been informed that security has now changed. All passengers MUST have their shoes X-rayed. It no longer matters if they would set off the alarm or not. Is this happening in any other airport?

Yes. See:

http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...ML/010390.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum...ML/006431.html

And since this is not really a MileBuzz topic, given the parallel topics elsewhere, this thread should probably be closed by a moderator.

[This message has been edited by cAAl (edited 06-06-2003).]

Actually I'm going to move it to the Travel Safety/Security forum.

Regards,
Gary
aka gleff
MilesBuzz and Delta moderator

re: Midland "security"...

Stupid a-holes. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/mad.gif

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"Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry

Everytime I asked to take them off I know ask if that is necessary and only do it once they have confirmed twice that it is policy. It was being enforced at ANC and DFW last week when I went through them, and at LAX international terminal also.

I fly out of Midland every Sunday and most of the TSA people know me by sight.... and yes I got an apology for the stupidity of this change. What is frustrating is the inconsistency of the application........ at Tampa on Friday, the line next to me was walking through with their shoes on and my line was having to take off their shoes....... DUH.

At DCA the Friday before NO ONE was having to remove their shoes, but in ABQ the day before everyone was removing their shoes...

The inconsistency is NUTTY.

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AA member since 1981.

Yes, the inconsistancies are bad enough, but the directive is really a bad idea. Standardization is the goal, but it is impossible to achieve when there are so many people arguing over the wording of the directive. When I was a weapons loader in the USAF we were in 3 man teams with each man having a set of responsiblities. Theoretically you could take three men from different teams and make a working team from them, but in reality we would be tripping over each other. We actually had two supervisors arguing for about 20 minutes over the thing, so we screeners got together and came up with our own method of following it, the one that is clearly outlined IN the directive. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by The Unknown Screener (edited 06-10-2003).]

Yup! I think it is the inconsistencies that drive people nuts with the TSA! I can understand that they want an "element of surprise and inconsistency" to help combat terrorism but am under the impression that this was NOT the intent of this directive.I

Based on my recent DCA-SFO r/t this week -- which led to 2 separate conversations with TSA mgrs -- my understanding is slightly different:

1) Shoes do get different treatment under "elevated alerts." If we ever drop below orange, mild sanity may return.

2) In the most absurdly technical way possible, it is not "mandatory" to remove your shoes. However, if you don't, you are automatically diverted for a secondary search! Sporting my travel-with-minimal-metal sneakers at DCA Monday morning, I heard some of the TSA screeners saying "shoes off," and explicitly asked the one in my lane if I could leave them on. When she said yes and then I got diverted after passing through the metal detector OK, I just about lost it. The supervisor didn't help things by failing to explain what the policy really is.

Coming back thru SFO, I decided to ask the question again. This time, the lane screener said "all shoes off, no exceptions." When I asked the supervisor which policy was the real one -- DCA's or SFO's -- she said SFO is trying to avoid pissing people off & has simply construed the policy as all shoes off, period.

I don't know which is stupider, the original TSA policy or the fact that airports like DCA implement it literally.

Sheesh.

My shoes stay on. If I am searched then so be it.

If more people resist this idiocy then they will change.

It is idiocy to worry about x-raying shoes. You could carry all kinds of things in your pockets that are non-metallic -- what is so special about shoes?

MAN, this is getting out of hand... Any Midland based folks called the TSA hotline on this (or there local congressional rep to complain of this INCONSITENT USELESS act).

According to this article, there never was a new directive:

Foot alert: Airport screeners looking at shoes

Yes, just leave it up to the screeners. They certainly know best! http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...m/rolleyes.gif


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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin

[This message has been edited by tazi (edited 06-12-2003).]

Somewhere, somehow, intelligence was received that the possibility of another shoe bomb is very likely. They never caught who made the first one so I imagine they would like to try again like with the World Trade center.

Last week, I had to take shoes off in DEN and did not have to at PDX. Great consistency TSA. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttr...m/rolleyes.gif

So, all Al-Qaeda has to do is include the phrase "underwear bomb" in its 'chatter' and we can look forward to ratcheting up the stupidity another couple of notches?

Bin Laden is playing Jimmy Loy like a marionette on a string. Way to jump when the puppeteer pulls the strings, Jimmy-boy!

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"Give me Liberty or give me Death." - Patrick Henry

[This message has been edited by Spiff (edited 06-13-2003).]